Licensing & PRO · Trade Licensing
Trade Licence Application in Dubai & the UAE
We match what your business actually does to the right licence type and activity codes, line up any external approvals and apply to DET or your free zone — so you hold a licence that covers your real work.
- Mainland & Free Zone
- Activity Codes Matched
- External Approvals Mapped
Licensed by Dubai DET · Licence 1394564
At a glance
- Issues mainland trade licences in Dubai
- DET
- Codes on the licence set what you may do
- Activity
- From other authorities for regulated activities
- Approvals
- Activities can be added or removed later
- Amendable
Your licence defines what you are allowed to do
A trade licence is not a formality. It lists the activities your business may carry out, and authorities, banks, customs and the FTA all read it. In Dubai mainland the main types are commercial — including general trading — professional, industrial and tourism, and each free zone has its own licence types, typically commercial, service and industrial. Pick the wrong type or activity codes and you may be unable to invoice for your real work, import your goods or add the approvals you need later.
We start from a plain description of what you sell, to whom and where, and translate it into the authority’s activity codes, checking which can be combined on one licence and which need an external approval. We then reserve the trade name, apply for initial approval, submit approval requests to the relevant regulators and complete the licence application with DET or your free zone. Before you start trading, we walk you through what the licence covers, what it does not, and when to amend it.
Key facts
- Issues mainland trade licences in Dubai
- DET
- Codes on the licence set what you may do
- Activity
- From other authorities for regulated activities
- Approvals
- Activities can be added or removed later
- Amendable
Everything covered in Trade Licence
The concrete scope our team delivers, grouped the way we actually run your file.
Licence Planning
Getting the type and activities right before anything is filed.
- Business activity mapping
- Licence type recommendation
- Activity combination check
- General trading suitability review
- Mainland versus free zone licence comparison
Approvals & Application
The filings that turn the plan into a licence.
- Trade name reservation
- Initial approval application
- External approval submissions
- Ejari or zone lease coordination
- Licence fee payment and issue
After Issue
Keeping the licence accurate as the business changes.
- Licence walk-through and limits briefing
- Renewal and approval expiry tracking
- Activity additions by amendment
- Establishment card and MOHRE registration
- VAT and corporate tax registration check
What you gain with Trade Licence
The practical difference when the work is planned and filed properly the first time.
Activities That Match Reality
Your activity codes are chosen from what you actually sell and deliver, so invoices, imports and contracts all sit inside your licence.
The Right Licence Type
Commercial, general trading, professional, industrial or tourism — we explain the differences and the conditions each type carries before you apply.
Compatible Combinations
We check which activities can share one licence and where a second licence or a branch is the cleaner answer.
Approvals Without Surprises
Activities in areas such as food, health, education, transport or security are flagged early, with the approving authority and its requirements identified.
Clear Limits Explained
You know what your licence does not cover — unlisted activities, mainland trading from a free zone, hiring without labour registration — before it becomes a problem.
Room to Grow
We plan the licence so new activities can be added later by amendment, without forming a new company for each change of direction.
A clear process, step by step
One adviser owns your file from first call to completion, and you always know which step you are on.
- 01
Describe the Business
You tell us what you sell or provide, to whom, from where and with what premises; we note anything regulated, imported or professionally qualified.
- 02
Match the Activity Codes
We map your business to the authority’s activity list, confirm the licence type, check which activities can be combined and identify any external approvals.
- 03
Name & Initial Approval
We reserve the trade name and apply for initial approval, then submit approval requests to each regulator involved and track them alongside the main application.
- 04
Premises & Issue
With the premises registered — Ejari on the Dubai mainland or a zone lease — and approvals in hand, the licence is issued once fees are paid.
- 05
Licence Walk-Through
We check the issued licence line by line, explain what it permits and what needs a further permit, and diarise renewal and approval expiry dates.
Who it’s for and what you’ll need
Have these ready and we can move quickly. If something is missing, we will tell you what the authority accepts instead.
When to get licensing advice
- You are starting a business and are unsure which licence type fits
- You want to combine trading with services or manufacturing
- Your activity touches food, health, education, transport or security
- You are adding a product line or service your current licence does not list
- You hold a free zone licence and are starting to win mainland customers
Documents we’ll need
- A plain description of your products or services
- Passport copies of shareholders and the manager
- Proposed trade names
- Premises details: tenancy, Ejari or free zone package
- Professional qualifications for professional or regulated activities, attested where required
- Supplier or product details for trading activities, where approvals depend on them
- Your existing licence, if you are adding a licence or branch
Need documents attested or translated? Our document clearing team can help.
Trade Licence questions
Straight answers to what clients ask us most. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
On the Dubai mainland, DET issues commercial licences (for trading, including general trading), professional licences (for services, consultancy and skilled crafts), industrial licences (for manufacturing and processing) and tourism licences (for activities such as travel agencies and hotels). Free zones issue their own types, usually commercial or trading, service or professional, and industrial. The type follows from your activities, not the other way round.
A general trading licence is a commercial licence that lets you trade in a broad range of goods rather than one product group, which suits businesses whose product mix will change. Some goods, such as food, medical products or chemicals, still need their own approvals, and restricted items are excluded. It also carries different fees and conditions from a standard commercial licence, so we check whether you genuinely need it.
It depends on the authority and the activities. Each authority sets how many activities one licence can carry and which activity groups can be combined, and adding activities can change the fees. Some combinations are not allowed on a single licence at all. We map your activities against the current rules and tell you whether one licence works, or whether a second licence or a branch is cleaner.
Not on its own. After the licence is issued, the company needs an immigration establishment card and, on the mainland, registration with MOHRE before it can apply for work permits and residence visas; free zone companies register through their zone. The number of visas also depends on your premises or package. We set these up straight after the licence so hiring can start as soon as possible.
Carrying out activities that are not on your licence breaches the licensing rules and can lead to fines or other action by the authority, which sets the penalties. It can also cause practical problems: banks may question payments that do not fit your licence, and customs or regulators may refuse transactions. If your business has moved on, the fix is usually a licence amendment to add the activity.
They are linked but not the same. Company formation creates the legal entity — its owners, legal form and constitutional documents. The trade licence is the authority’s permission for that business to carry out specific activities from specific premises, and it is renewed and amended throughout the company’s life. A sole establishment has no separate legal personality, so for it the licence is, in effect, the business itself.
Trade Licence across every jurisdiction
Free zone, mainland or offshore — the jurisdiction changes the process, the fees and what you are allowed to do. These are the ones clients ask about most.
Related services
Most clients combine these. We run them as one engagement with a single point of contact.
Guides on Trade Licence
In-depth articles from our team on the questions clients most often ask about this service.
Let’s plan your next move
Tell us what you are planning. An adviser will come back with the route, the documents and an itemised quote — no obligation, no pressure to commit.
Visit our office
Office 44, Floor M2, BN Complex, Deira Al Muteena, Dubai, UAE
Mon – Sat, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (GST)
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